Graduates
by katietheunicorn
Summary: Maura Isles and Kate Beckett met in college in LA; now they are adults and living following this encounter.


Greetings, fellow humans!  
So, essentially, zashaxander, or zanna_sk, is driving me crazy with her stupid Scottish head and her slow and sluggish approach to updating the Stasha Story of the Century.  
Zanna, I love you really.  
Mostly to amuse myself while I wait for her (that's what she said) I have written a little add-on one-shot as a mini-epilogue to Zanna's creation. So this is to all intents and purposes a FanFiction of a FanFiction. A FanFanFiction?  
Love, KT X

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**GRADUATES**

THE MORNING BROKE SUDDENLY THAT DAY, throwing sunbeams through the crack in the curtains and startling them both awake. Distant birdsong resonated through the quiet street and the traffic far away on Main Street was so light it was inaudible, a very rare occurrence, despite the open windows, mouths gaping wide in a desperate and slightly premature bid to drink in some summer heat; all they accepted were crisp spring air and honeysuckle-laced dew. Maura stood to throw wide the curtains and breathe in the scents, take in the sounds and taste the light dust of pollen as it floated gracefully towards her. She stood like that for a while, taking deep, yoga breaths and feeling the change in the world.

Meanwhile, Kate attempted to shake the sleep from her hair and wandered into the kitchen to make some coffee. She decided on espresso, seeing as the clock hadn't even declared six A.M yet, and gathered the fragrant beans, working with the speed and dexterity of a professional barista. While she worked, Maura shuffled in, her oversized, white button-down quite becoming on her, and moved elegantly over to where Kate stood. Kate's hands continued to work as Maura's slid around her belly and locked together, sending shivers down Kate's spine and a smile across her face.

"Good morning," she whispered, discontented to break the peace which had settled upon them, but failing to resist the loving pull of Maura's safe arms.

Maura giggled quietly, "Hi," she said, her voice lilting and welcoming. Kate pulled down on the lever, and as the espresso machine worked its magic, she leaned back and settled her head gently on Maura's shoulder, which gave her neck a welcome stretch as Maura was slightly shorter than she was. Maura's tousled hair was soft and caressing against her temple.

"How did you sleep?"

"Wonderfully, thank you, with sweet dreams of you," Maura said close to Kate's ear, so close, in fact, that the vibrations of her voice roused her white skin.

Kate couldn't help the grin that widened her lips; it was instinctive. "I dreamt about you, too," she said, and moved her head to the left to lightly kiss Maura's earlobe.

At last the espresso was drawn into white china cups; they sat at the kitchen island in Maura's tasteful wooden bar stools and sipped, the warm black liquid slipping gratifyingly down their throats.

When they were done, Maura took the cups and placed them delicately – as with all her movements, so graceful was she – in the sink, before walking back to where Kate sat in the T-Shirt and panties she'd thrown on as Maura had taken in the beauty of the morning from their window. She was about to return to her own seat when Kate wrapped her arms around that shirt-clad waist and drew Maura into her lap, sitting her sideways so their faces could still meet. And they did meet very quickly, soft, sweet, coffee-scented kisses peppered all over, then deeper, more passionate and needy; Maura bit Kate's lip lightly as her tongue danced and she shifted her position on Kate's lap so as to straddle her hips.

Maura was always surprised by Kate's strength, and was so now when Kate stood, lifting Maura with her, and marched towards their bed as Maura's smooth and toned legs circled around her back and she set in on kissing Kate's neck, almost devouring it, so beautiful was Kate.

They fell onto the bed and Maura's hair tumbled out behind her, sprawling across the sheets, as Kate began to work on those shirt buttons. Maura hooked her thumbs into the sides of Kate's red underwear and pulled her pelvis down, generating a beating rhythm that echoed joyfully through the both of them, exciting their hearts to a wild and frenzied pace; Kate finally worked the shirt from Maura's shoulders, yanking it roughly and tossing it to the floor. She then straightened her back and slipped off her own shirt, revealing to Maura her well-shaped breasts – not large, but well proportioned. Maura bit her lip and could no longer resist sliding Kate's panties down, her knuckles tracing a path down her glowing skin. Kate responded with equal bliss.

At last they fell back, plummeting into a pit of elation filled with rough kisses, clashing hip bones and hands plunged deep into tangles of hair.

This far into their marriage and they still couldn't keep their hands off each other.

Their six A.M alarm startled them, and they fell apart laughing, shoulders touching, faces turned towards each other, sweat cooling between them. They beamed at each other, two sets of white teeth dazzling in the morning light, and lay there contentedly gazing into perfect, molten eyes, positively glowing after their morning exertion.

Kate stood and pulled Maura with her, guiding her to the bathroom so they could shower. She switched on the water and waited for it to gain heat, meanwhile pressing Maura back against the cool tile, locking their lips and toying with her tongue.

She wasn't expecting it when Maura claimed the upper hand, slamming Kate against the wall and pouncing on her like a wildcat, wrapping her hands tightly around Kate's ass, sliding them up the small of her back, following the curves of Kate's athletic frame to her breasts. She traced them back down the spinal vertebrae until they reached the small of her back, then she dragged backwards and guided them under the steaming water.

Both became gentler then, as Maura worked to tame Kate's wild tangles and Kate reached behind to Maura with warm, soapy hands.

Mornings were their shared favourite part of the day, though they hadn't started out as morning people back in college. They rose early to generate electricity; when they came home at night after work they were tired and their minds spent on draining cases.

It was clear to both of them that Maura was worse off in the evenings; she spent the day working dead bodies, but she also spent that time worrying incessantly about her Kate; imagining the horrors she faced as she stepped into the world with a gun on her hip was enough to raise Maura's cortisol levels enough that her shoulders tensed and couldn't be worked free until Kate returned home to soothe them, which wasn't until the end of the week, so Skype had to satisfy them both.

She'd been there, of course, when Johanna was taken from her, and she watched how it haunted Kate and how she toiled over all that resentment she'd felt towards her mother. It was not a surprise, nor incomprehensible, when Kate hadn't returned to college that Christmas break. And, selfish though she was, she couldn't bear even thinking about going through that desolate pain should she lose Kate.

And so, Mura always returned home stressed and overworked, having stayed late, as with every night, to progress with her paperwork, because she wanted to be home for when Kate's commute finally brought her back to Maura's arms.

Thinking on this, Maura slipped her arms around Kate's slick hips, hugging her from behind and kissing her neck because she did not want to let her go, but knew that she would shortly have to. Off to New York to save the world. It was only Monday, and Maura would travel up on Tuesday night and stay until Thursday, taking her welcome free Wednesday to write endless and boring paperwork and volunteer for her mother's clinic, a venture which had been Hope's idea, encouraged by Kate; she was glad Kate had pushed her – her relationship with Hope had come to be invaluable.

Their set-up was not ideal, they knew, and they discussed it often, but until their careers guided them together, it would have to do. They both loved their house in Boston, and they both loved their apartment in Manhattan. Plus they had more air miles between them than the entire state of California.

"I know what you're thinking about," Kate said, drawing Maura from her reverie. "I'll see you tomorrow night, like always, and it will be fine. Plus I have this Friday off, remember?"

"I remember," Maura said, trying to smile.

Kate sighed, "I can see your mood is incurable."

"Sorry. I've spoiled our morning," Maura said.

"The morning is young," Kate answered with a wink, and pulled the shower to a stop.

They didn't bother with towels, but tumbled to the bathroom floor and onto the blue mat there, which proved to be surprisingly comfortable.

"I take it back, I believe there is a cure for that mood of yours," Kate teased.

"And what's that?" Maura asked, her breath already quickening.

"Earth-shattering sex."

"Agreed."

They rocked together until their seven A.M alarm went off and made them regret taking such a long shower.

Maura picked a white pencil skirt and a teal lace jumper from DKNY for the day, while Kate pulled from her closet her darkest jeans and a white blouse. They analysed each other's outfits and smiled their approval, then went to the opposite closets to borrow stilettos; they felt the need to change things up.

They met once again in the middle of the room and Maura undid Kate's top button, placing her thumb gently on the scar there as she leaned in for a long, slow kiss. They'd been through so much together and come out stronger for it.

Kate smiled as she pulled back from Maura's delicate mouth and reapplied the pink lipstick she'd worn off; Maura did the same, though she picked out a lighter shade than Kate had put on originally. They stood for a long time with their hands pressed to each other's faces.

It was always hard to say goodbye; it never got easier, and Kate doubted that it ever would.

Maura drove her to the airport, as always, and walked her to the gate, as always, and they came together for one final, desperate kiss, as always, grinning when spectators showed startled faces. Kate walked to the gate, turning to look behind her twice and blowing a kiss each time. When had she become such a romantic?

New York was warmer than Boston had been, which she appreciated as she took off her blazer and folded it into her shoulder bag, marching purposefully up the steps of the 12th and into her office. She sat at her desk and her colleagues responded by placing in front of her the murder that had been reported not ten minutes ago. She told the boys to go on ahead of her, and she spent her stolen minute gazing at the framed photo on her desk of she and Maura at their wedding, each in her own white dress, with her own favourite flowers. And to the picture she silently pledged to stay safe.

Tuesday evening was always bliss, and this night was no different. Kate parked her Crown Vic outside her building and sprinted to the foyer, then up the stairs; she was far too impatient to wait for the elevator.

She made it into their apartment in record time – a record she broke every Tuesday without fail – and threw her bag and jacket and keys onto the floor, not caring which directions they scattered in. She ran forward to the coach, where a woman more ethereal than an angel waited with open arms, and fell onto it, embracing Maura with a need and passion akin to that of a woman who'd been without her lover for months, not merely one night.

The two glasses of red wine on the coffee table went ignored as they rolled onto the rug and lay together, the exhaustion of the day wearing on both of them as they kissed and caressed cheeks and stroked hair. They grew sleepy as they gazed into one another's eyes, like star-crossed lovers from a poorly-written romance novel, and so went off to bed, Kate wrapping her body protectively around Maura's; Maura cocooned herself gratefully in Kate's warmth and they settled off to sleep together, never happier than that moment, for each new moment spent together was the best of their shared lives.

One last thought slipped through Kate's mind before she slipped into the blanketed, white abyss of sleep with Maura, and that was of her mother, and her mother's words to her in college:

"You're in love, Katie."

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I hope you like it, Zanna, you've inspired me! KT X _ Green_Tiger_21_


End file.
